Department for Education

English Language: Education

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) review the provision of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) for recognised refugees, and (2) issue guidance on funding and best practiceforESOL.

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a strategy for English for speakers of other languages for refugees in England, ensuring access for all, especially women.

lord agnew of oulton: The government recognises that learning English is essential in enabling refugees to rebuild their lives. We are working across government to develop a new strategy for English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) in 2019. This strategy will provide a shared vision for all publicly funded English language provision, including addressing the needs of refugees.The department funds ESOL through the Adult Education Budget (AEB), which is allocated to providers on an annual basis. Colleges and adult learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their AEB allocation to meet the needs of their communities. This includes planning, with local partners, the ESOL courses that they will deliver locally. The AEB also provides additional support for learners who face specific financial hardship which is preventing them from taking part and/or continuing in learning.The Home Office and the Department for Education have also provided £10 million to enable refugees resettled through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme to access additional classes.

Pupil Premium: Intercountry Adoption

baroness walmsley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the eligibility for Pupil Premium Plus funding to include children adopted from overseas.

lord agnew of oulton: The government is currently considering the application of pupil premium plus to children adopted from care outside England and Wales and have not set a timetable for any changes. However, this should not prevent schools from providing full support to these children now, including, for example, the expertise of both designated teacher and virtual school heads, whose duties to promote the educational attainment of previously looked-after children include children adopted from care from abroad.

Universities: Pay

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the effect of Vice Chancellors being present at meetings of universities' remuneration committees.

viscount younger of leckie: Vice chancellor salaries must be justifiable and should not be excessive.‎ The process for setting pay must be transparent. The government agrees with the recommendation made by the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) in its senior staff remuneration code that vice chancellors should not sit on the committee that sets their pay. The government set up the regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), to regulate the higher education sector and to ensure the sector is delivering real value for money. The OfS has said that universities should, as a minimum, be following the CUC senior staff remuneration code. Where issues with senior staff pay lead to concerns, the OfS has the power to carry out independent reviews to ensure that a provider’s governance arrangements are fit for purpose.

Ministry of Justice

Peers: Writs of Summons

lord farmer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many writs of summons were sent to Peers in (1) each region of England, (2) Scotland, (3) Wales, and (4) Northern Ireland, in 2017.

lord keen of elie: Following the dissolution of Parliament for the General Election in 2017, a total of 823 writs of summons were sent to Peers in the UK and NorthernIreland.Information on the number of writs issued by region is no longer held by the Crown Office, which is responsible for issuing the writs. Writs are issued to Preferred contact addresses provided by Peers to the House of Lords.

Ministry of Defence

Satellite Communications: Procurement

lord robathan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether (1) the Service Delivery Wrap, and (2) the Global Interconnect Network, still form part of the Skynet acquisition and tender process.

earl howe: It is confirmed that both the Service Delivery Wrap and the Global Interconnect Network form part of the ongoing SKYNET 6 Acquisition Programme.

Bahrain: Military Aid

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 4 June (HL15900), whether the British Armed Forces have provided training to the Royal Guard of Bahrain at any time over the past three years; if so, on what dates the training was delivered; and what was the purpose of any such training.

earl howe: The British Armed Forces provided the Bahrain Royal Guard with physical training instruction in 2018, and close protection and military annual training tests (medical and basic life support) training in 2019.

Home Office

Human Trafficking: Vietnam

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK, Anti-Slavery International and the Pacific Links Foundation, Precarious Journeys: Mapping vulnerabilities of victims of trafficking from Vietnam to Europe, published 7 March, in particular its finding (1) that 1,127 Vietnamese children were arrested in the UK between 2012 and 2018, mostly for immigration and drug offences, despite the known risks of trafficking amongst this group, (2) in regard to the Government's identification and protection of Vietnamese victims and potential victims of trafficking, and (3) that rigid policies to control immigration and growing anti-immigration rhetoric throughout Europe and in the UK exacerbate the vulnerability of Vietnamese adults and children to trafficking and exploitation.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office welcomes the useful research by the Pacific Links Foundation, ECPAT and Anti-Slavery International, which was supported by the Home Office’s Modern Slavery Innovation Fund. The report contributes to the evidence base on modern slavery and we are taking the recommendations into consideration.The decision to arrest is ultimately an operational decision; to support this decision making, the Government has invested in police training and awareness as part of the £11.6m Modern Slavery Police Transformation Programme investment so that officers are aware of the signs and indicators of victims encountered in the course of police duties, even if this is in relation to enforcement of drug legislation, for example. The s45 statutory defence introduced by the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides further protection for victims forced to commit crimes such as cannabis cultivation.

Terrorism: Greater London

lord harris of haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government why no public statement was made at the time of, or shortly after, the seizure of three tonnes of explosive materials allegedly linked to Hezbollah terrorists in north London at the end of September 2015; and when Ministers and elected officials were briefed on those seizures.

baroness williams of trafford: It is the policy of successive governments not to comment on Police operational or intelligence matters.

Cabinet Office

Public Sector: Staff

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, what is thepercentage breakdown of public sector employees by (1) gender, and (2) ethnicity, foreach region of the United Kingdom.

lord young of cookham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.Dear Viscount Waverley,As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what the percentage breakdown of public sector employees is by (1) gender, and (2) ethnicity for each region of the United Kingdom (HL164444).Estimates of employees by sector of employment are available from the Annual Population Survey (APS), a household survey of people in the UK. In the APS, the distinction between public and private sector is based on respondents’ views about the organisation for which they work. This may differ from how we would classify them for the headline measure of public sector employment. The APS also collects information regarding respondents’ sex and ethnicity. Table 1 contains estimates of the percentage of public sector employees broken down by sex within each region. Table 2 contains estimates of the percentage of public sector employees broken down by ethnicity within each region. Both breakdowns use APS data for April 2018 to March 2019, the latest period for which data are available.As the data are quite extensive, copy of both tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.Yours sincerely,John Pullinger



UKSA Final Response
(Excel SpreadSheet, 16.02 KB)

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements: USA

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include tendering contracts for prisons and probation services to American providers in any post-Brexit trade agreement with the government of the US.

viscount younger of leckie: The Government has been consistently clear that it is committed to negotiating an ambitious free trade agreement with the US that maintains our high standards for businesses, workers and consumers. It is too early to say exactly what would be covered in any future UK-US deal. However, we will continue to ensure that decisions about how public services and outcomes are delivered for UK citizens are made by UK governments, not our trade partners.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Television: Licensing

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures are in place for the BBC to receive informationabout those in receipt of Pension Credit; and whether they are satisfied that any such measures comply with the General Data Protection Regulation.

lord ashton of hyde: The BBC is responsible for the cost and the administration of the over 75 licence fee concession from June 2020, including data protection compliance. The BBC proposes to operate a self-verification model for the over 75 licence fee concession from June 2020, with those who consider themselves eligible responsible for sharing evidence of their entitlement directly with the BBC. However, any necessary changes should be as easy to understand as possible and we look forward to hearing more about the detailed plans for communicating and implementing this change from the BBC.

Television: Licensing

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish details of the agreement reached with the BBCabout the TV licence fee arrangements for those who are 75 or over, in particular how the agreement will be enforced.

lord ashton of hyde: The decision on the future of the free TV licence fee concession is entirely a matter for the BBC. In the 2015 funding settlement, we agreed that responsibility for the concession would transfer to the BBC in June 2020. The agreement became part of the Digital Economy Act 2017, discussed and passed by the House, and enshrined in the new Royal Charter in 2017. Both the Act and the Royal Charter are already in the public domain. The BBC conducted an extensive public consultation with over 190,000 responses, before coming to a view that only those aged 75 and above and in receipt of pension credit will continue to receive a free television licence. The Secretary of State expressed disappointment with the BBC for taking the most narrowly focused reform option despite receiving its highest ever level of licence fee funding. We have asked the BBC to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision. Enforcement of the licence fee is also a matter for the BBC. But we have asked the BBC to consider among its measures of support for vulnerable groups, those which might alleviate concerns around enforcement among the over 75s.

Television: Licensing

lord foulkes of cumnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to enforce the proposed new licence fee arrangement for those aged 75 or over, in the event of non-payment.

lord ashton of hyde: The decision on the future of the free TV licence fee concession is entirely a matter for the BBC. In the 2015 funding settlement, we agreed that responsibility for the concession would transfer to the BBC in June 2020. The agreement became part of the Digital Economy Act 2017, discussed and passed by the House, and enshrined in the new Royal Charter in 2017. Both the Act and the Royal Charter are already in the public domain. The BBC conducted an extensive public consultation with over 190,000 responses, before coming to a view that only those aged 75 and above and in receipt of pension credit will continue to receive a free television licence. The Secretary of State expressed disappointment with the BBC for taking the most narrowly focused reform option despite receiving its highest ever level of licence fee funding. We have asked the BBC to do more to help the most vulnerable groups affected by the decision. Enforcement of the licence fee is also a matter for the BBC. But we have asked the BBC to consider among its measures of support for vulnerable groups, those which might alleviate concerns around enforcement among the over 75s.

Hate Crime: Internet

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made, further to the Law Commission’s Scoping Report on Abusive and Offensive Online Communicationspublished on 1 November 2018, to improve the current criminal law concerning abusive and offensive online communications, in order to tackle online abuse more effectively.

lord ashton of hyde: The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport and the Ministry of Justice have engaged the Law Commission on a second phase of their review of abusive and offensive online communications. This will begin in July 2019 and will build on the analysis undertaken for the Scoping Report.In Phase 2, the Law Commission will review existing communications offences to establish whether the law is fit for purpose, and make specific recommendations about options for reform in this area. This will include considering whether co-ordinated harassment by groups of people online could be more effectively dealt with by the criminal law.The Law Commission will also look at the criminal law around the non-consensual taking and sharing of intimate images. The review will look at existing offences and identify whether there are any gaps in the scope of the protection already offered to victims, making recommendations to ensure that the criminal law provides consistent and effective protection against the creation and sharing of intimate images without consent.